SOLAR DRYING OF CHILLIES (11:34)When chillies remain moist, moulds develop and the chillies will go bad. Some moulds produce a poison, called aflatoxin, which is toxic to people. To speed up drying and to dry your food hygienically you can use a solar dryer that uses the heat of the sun to dry fruits and vegetables. Solar dryers come in many shapes and sizes, but the principles stay the same. In this video, we will learn how to make and use a simple solar dryer to dry chillies.Watch video ›

MAKING CHILLI POWDER (10:30)Making chilli powder is a good way to make money that does not require very much time. Rural and urban woemn entrepreneurs explain what is needed to make a product that doesn't change, that is of the same quality, the same taste, the same colour and that is well presented.Watch video ›

MANAGING NEMATODES IN VEGETABLES (15:42)Nematodes are dreadful worms that live in the soil and in the roots of many different crops and weeds. Nematodes are easier to prevent than to control. The secret is to: grow healthy seedlings; destroy all sources of nematodes in and near your vegetable field; rotate with crops that are resistant to nematodes; and avoid introducing nematodes from other fields. Farmers in southern Benin show us how to control nematodes.Watch video ›

INSECT NETS IN SEEDBEDS (11:35)Grasshoppers and snails can be a serious problem for any vegetable seedbed as they chew the tender stems of seedlings. Caterpillars can also cause damage, but more so on tomato and cabbage than on chilli. Insect nets help to protect vegetable seedlings in seedbeds from goats, chickens, snails and insect pests.Watch video ›

MAKING A CHILLI SEEDBED (14:30)Farmers in Benin learn us how to make a chilli seedbed to get strong, healthy seedlings. Strong and healthy seedlings are the best start for a healthy and productive crop.Watch video ›

SELECTING NEW RICE VARIETIES (20:00)Participatory varietal selection or PVS is a method that allows different stakeholders to get involved in identifying constraints and selecting new varieties out of the hundreds developed by rice breeders. During three years multiple stakeholders are involved in mother trials, baby trials and tasting tests.Watch video ›

GROWING CASSAVA IN POOR SOILS (17:50)Farmers in Côte d'Ivoire show how they improve their cassava production and restore soil fertility. There are five things to do: use improved varieties that are resistant to the cassava mosaic virus; apply organic matter; apply small doses of mineral fertiliser; grow a legume in between our cassava; and plant the cassava in lines, leaving sufficient space between the lines.Watch video ›

WOMEN IN EXTENSION (15:30)Food production in women's fields could easily increase by 30% if we paid attention to gender when dealing with these four areas: demand for training and advice; extension methods and content; access to land, inputs and credit; and access to markets.Watch video ›

GROW MORE, EARN MORE (20:00)Some farmers in Bangladesh have increased their production of maize, wheat, and mungbean during the dry season despite reduced availability of irrigation water and rising labour costs. Key to their success has been the conservation of soil moisture, and the use of machinery that sows crops earlier without fully tilling the land.Watch video ›

INTEGRATED SOIL FERTILITY MANAGEMENT (22:00)Integrated soil fertility management can help governments to save money. More importantly, it is crucial to help farmers become food secure. Not only for today, but for generations to come. This video targets universities and development agencies, drawing on examples from West, Central and East Africa.Watch video ›

TOMATO DRIP IRRIGATION (14:24)Farmer groups and individuals in Burkina Faso explain the benefits and challenges of a low-cost drip irrigation system, and show how such a system is set up. A social innovation is included that relates to organic matter management.
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STRIGA BIOLOGY (08:56)One of the major parasites is striga, a weed that sucks the sap and nutrients from cereal crops such as millet, sorghum and maize and causes great yield losses. A single striga plant can produce hundreds of thousands of seeds. The seeds are so tiny that most farmers do not know they are seeds. They really look more like black dust. But don’t let their size fool you, they are dangerous.
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INTEGRATED APPROACH AGAINST STRIGA (08:32)Striga causes more damage to crops in poor soils, so both problems have to be tackled together. In this video we will learn why it is important to combine at least three control methods to reduce striga and obtain a good yield.
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MICRO-DOSING (09:40)To resolve the problems of poor soil fertility and to fight against striga with limited means, some farmers in Niger apply micro-doses. Compared to broadcasting, the localised application of micro-doses requires less manure, compost or mineral fertilizer.
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JOINING HANDS AGAINST STRIGA (07:46)It is important to pull striga with your hands before the time it produces seeds and spreads and destroys the crop in the coming season. Farmers in Tanzania and Mali join hands to reduce the drudgery of hand pulling. Their community effort also helps them avoid spreading striga seeds to neighbouring fields.
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LET’S TALK MONEY (06:26)The economic analysis allows farmers to know how much money they earn or how much they will lose by changing from one technology to another, or from one practice to another. This helps them make a decision for the following year as to which practice they want to try out in their own fields.Watch video ›

COMPOSTING TO BEAT STRIGA (10:10)Compost is more powerful than manure. What is less known is that the micro-organisms in compost attack striga seeds in the soil. Compost also decreases the amount of striga that will sprout, and reduces its negative effect on cereal crops.
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ANIMALS AND TREES FOR A BETTER CROP (12:03)In semi-arid West Africa, farmers and herders explain why and how trees and livestock play a crucial role in obtaining a productive soil and crop.Watch video ›

GROW ROW BY ROW (9:00)Farmers in northern Nigeria are changing the way they intercrop their sorghum and millet with cowpea. By planting both crops at higher densities and in separate rows, and by applying some organic and mineral fertilizer, they harvest more and reduce damage by the parasitic weed striga.Watch video ›

STORING COWPEA SEED (12:00)Keeping quality legume seed has two major challenges. First, the seed easily loses its ability to germinate. And second, we are not the only ones who love legumes. Let’s listen to some farmers from northern Ghana.Watch video ›

SUCCEED WITH SEEDS (10:44)During weekly visits, and supported by their extension agent, a farmer field school in Tanzania learns how to test different sorghum varieties for striga resistance and evaluate how each one performs under different practices.Watch video ›

UREA DEEP PLACEMENT (11:53)When urea is surface broadcasted in floodwater, it dissolves easily and two out of every three bags applied are not available to the rice crop. By placing urea super granules, nitrogen is released slowly and stays in the soil, close to the plant roots where it is absorbed more effectively.
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FISH FOR FOOD, FOOD FOR FISH (9:55)What is plankton, and why does it matter to stimulate plankton growth? Experienced farmers in Bangladesh explain how they manage water quality in ponds in low-lying paddy fields in between two cropping seasons, and why it is crucial for fish production.Watch video ›

VISION BECOMES REALITY (11:35)A youth association in Northern Ghana shows how self-determination and commitment backed by appropriate financial and business development services have helped members to generate additional income and sustain their group.Watch video ›

LAND PREPARATION (10:23) How do land preparation and water management affect crop establishment, weed management and rice yields? And why does a field need to be perfectly levelled to make the optimal use of fertilizers? In this video we will learn the answers to these and other questions.Watch video ›

RICE SEEDBED PREPARATION (17:42) In this video, we will learn how to prepare a seedbed, as establishing a good seedbed is needed to obtain strong seedlings and give our crop a good start. Let’s look at it step by step.Watch video ›

RICE TRANSPLANTING (14:15) “Yields are much higher when rice is transplanted. Compared to broadcasting, yields are two or three times higher.”Watch video ›

RICE WEED MANAGEMENT (16:15) As we know that effective weed control could increase yields by more than 50%, it surely is worthwhile taking a closer look. In this video we will learn how to control weeds most effectively.Watch video ›

MANAGING SOIL FERTILITY FOR HEALTHY RICE (18:44) In this video we will learn all about nutrients, soil structure, organic matter and how to maintain our soil fertile. All this will allow you to keep on cultivating your land and produce healthy crops.Watch video ›

SPOTTED SEED MEANS DISEASED SEED (07:29) There are many problems with poor seed, and spotted and discoloured seed are some of the major ones. Spotted seeds can't be removed by winnowing or seed floatation. They can only be removed by manual sorting. This video will show you how to clean seed as one of the interventions to produce and use healthy seed.Watch video ›

SEED CLEANING BY FLOATATION (06:35) Why not try this new technique of seed floatation before sowing your seed… “When the farmers take out their seed from storage and open the lid of the container, they may find flying insects. To confirm if the seed has been attacked, the farmer takes a sample of seed in his hand and on close observation they will find holes in the seed. Insects eat the endosperm - the inside of the seed - so these seeds become light and easily float on the water.”Watch video ›

WELL-DRIED SEED IS GOOD SEED (06:20) Farmers face great difficulties with drying their seeds because seed absorbs moisture from the soil. As a result, seed quality deteriorates, and no-one can expect good yields by using poor quality seed. In this video you can see how farmers of Maria village solved this problem by themselves. Now they are no longer worried about drying seed, even during the rainy season.Watch video ›

SEED PRESERVATION TECHNIQUES (07:05) Based on hard real-life experience, the women of Maria village have devised some very effective techniques for seed preservation. Let's learn from some of these innovative women …Watch video ›

IMPROVING RICE QUALITY (13:26) “…culture of quality is very important for us to push back the dumping from outside, if we don’t do it; whether its from Africa, whether it’s from my mothers kitchen, people are not going to buy it, so we have to become competitive, we have to develop competitive advantage and quality is the most important element in competitive advantage and, it’s within our reach, we can do it.”Watch video ›

CASHING IN WITH PARBOILED RICE (12:37) Although rice is highly nutritious, a lot of the quality is lost during processing. This results in poor-quality rice on the market, so consumers turn to imported rice. In this video we will learn about parboiling, a way to improve the quality of rice by treating the paddy with warm water and steam. There are many good reasons for parboiling rice. The market for quality rice is growing. Food vendors and restaurant owners start to use parboiled rice because it is already clean and easy to cook. Most importantly, parboiled rice is more nutritious than non-parboiled rice.Watch video ›